This page lists the winners and nominees for the Soul Train Music Sammy Davis Jr. Award for Entertainer of the Year. At times the award was given out twice in a year, honoring male and female artists separately. Beyoncé was the only artist to have won this award twice in the show's history (once solo and once with Destiny's Child) until 2009, when Michael Jackson was posthumously awarded his second Entertainer of the Year.
Winners are listed first and highlighted in bold.
| Year | Artist | Ref |
|---|---|---|
| 1989 | ||
| Michael Jackson | [1] |
| Year | Artist | Ref |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | ||
| Arsenio Hall | [2] | |
| 1991 | ||
| MC Hammer | [3] | |
| 1992 | ||
| Janet Jackson | [4] | |
| 1993 | ||
| En Vogue | [5] | |
| 1994 | ||
| Whitney Houston | [6] | |
| 1995 | ||
| Queen Latifah | [7] | |
| 1996 | ||
| Boyz II Men | [8] | |
| 1997 | ||
| Babyface | [9] | |
| 1998 | ||
| Sean "Puffy" Combs | [10] | |
| 1999 | ||
| R. Kelly | [11] | |
| Lauryn Hill |
| Year | Artist | Ref |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | ||
| DMX | [12] | |
| Mary J. Blige | ||
| 2001 | ||
| Jay Z | [13] | |
| Destiny's Child | ||
| 2002 | ||
| Dr. Dre | [14] | |
| Alicia Keys | ||
| 2003 | ||
| Nelly | [15] | |
| 2004 | ||
| Outkast | [16] | |
| Beyoncé | ||
| 2005 | ||
| Usher | [17] | |
| Ciara | ||
| 2006 | ||
| John Legend | [18] | |
| 2007 | ||
| Jennifer Hudson | [19] | |
| 2008 | ||
| colspan="2" | ||
| 2009 | ||
| Michael Jackson | [20] |